The original suspension was due to end on June 17 but has been extended on biosecurity grounds.

An Australian Border Force statement said: "... the Governor-General has extended the human biosecurity emergency period for an additional three months, from 17 June to 17 September 2020. This has enabled the Minister for Health to continue to exercise the emergency powers under the Commonwealth Biosecurity Act to prevent or control the spread of COVID-19."

Australian ports will not allow the arrival of "any international cruise ship that has left a foreign port". The restrictions include direct arrivals and round trip cruises."

The Australian coast turned into a parking lot of sorts for cruise ships as COVID-19 crept its way across the globe.

The world's largest luxury residential ship, The World, docked in Perth in March - the the first time in 18 years the non-stop, round-the-world itinerary had been paused.

Mega-ships, Ovation of the Seas and Spectrum of the Seas, spent time in Port Kembla and Sydney respectively while the fate of the Ruby Princess has been well-chronicled.

It sailed into Sydney mid-March, sparked Australia's largest outbreak of COVID-19, was quarantined at Port Kembla, south of Wollongong, and left amid much controversy three weeks later.